Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson battled early during the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. / Kevin Liles, US Presswire

by Nate Ryan, USA TODAY Sports

by Nate Ryan, USA TODAY Sports

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - NASCAR has a new champion and he embodies everything that the sport's sanctioning body is not.

Brad Keselowski, 28, is a fresh-faced social media savvy driver who has shown this year - his third in Sprint Cup - that he isn't afraid to ruffle feathers among the sport's elite.

From tweeting from his car during red-flag stops (which earned him a $25,000 fine from NASCAR last week) to challenging other, more well-heeled drivers, Keselowski represents a changing of the guard in the sport.

The driver of the No. 2 brings the first Cup championship for Penske Racing after Jimmie Johnson experienced mechanical problems with 40 laps left Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

As he was welcomed to the post-race celebration and hugged by team owner Roger Penske and Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, Keselowski said he drew inspiration for the title duel from a Ray Lewis video.

"Always, throughout my whole life, I've been told I'm not big enough, not fast enough, not strong enough and I don't have what it takes. I've used that as a chip on my shoulder to carry me through my whole career," he said.

"It took until this year for me to realize that that was right, man, they were right. I'm not big enough, fast enough, strong enough. No person is. Only a team can do that.

"These guys up here, they make me fast enough. They make me strong enough to do anything we want to do. It's because of these guys. I can't be here without them. I really can't. This isn't a one-man effort. I might get the glory, but it's about these guys, it's about my family."

For Keselowski, the moment crowned a transcendent season that he kicked off by tweeting photos from the Daytona 500 when Juan Pablo Montoya crashed with a jet fuel dryer, igniting a blaze. Keselowski gained more than 100,000 followers on Twitter that night and his fan base grew as the season wore on.

Some connected with the outspoken, affable kid from Michigan because he showed a willingness to connect with them, some because, well, he wasn't Johnson. He constantly showed during the 36-race season that he could beat the five-time champion.

Not long after his celebratory burnout, he tweeted a picture from inside his car with this message: ''We did it!''

Keselowski also was quick to praise Johnson.

"He's the best. He proved it here today," Keselowski said. "He was going to win the damn race. And I knew that. We were not as fast as we wanted to be, I'll be the first to admit that.

"But my guys never gave up, kept working and at the end we were capable of getting back up enough to where it wouldn't have mattered if (Johnson) won, which made me feel a lot better. (laughs) â?¦ My guys just did a great job all year along, especially in this Chase. I'm lucky to have them."

Johnson needed to finish at least 20 points ahead of Keselowski to win his sixth championship, but he pitted under green on lap 227 after smoke filled the cockpit of his No. 48 Chevrolet. It was diagnosed as a drive-line problem, and the crew pushed the car to the garage with Johnson in 36th place.

With 24 laps remaining, NASCAR confirmed that Keselowski had won the championship.
As he crossed the finish line, he radioed his crew: "Great job. We did it boys. What an awesome season."

Keselowski finished 15th. Johnson came in 36th.

"Pretty heartbreaking, you know?" Johnson said. "We were doing what we needed to and certainly were putting pressure on that 2 car. But that's racing.Stuff happens. It's out of my control, certainly.

"We didn't get the result, but that's life. We'll come back next year and try again."

Jeff Gordon, who was fined $100,000 last week for intentionally wrecking Clint Bowyer at Phoenix International Raceway, won the race by beating -- Bowyer. It was just his second victory of a star-crossed season. He also won the rain-shortened event at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 5.

At one point, Gordon and Bowyer were battling for track position after a restart.

"Can you believe that? That thing is going to work itself out some way through racing," Gordon said. "I still regret the way I went about it ... but I can't take it back. This year's been real up and down."

Gordon's teammate seemed poised to steal the title from Keselowski after crew chief Chad Knaus made a shrewd call for two tires to take the lead on lap 145 while Keselowski opted for four.

Johnson pitted again under a caution 13 laps later while Keselowski stayed on the track. That briefly put Johnson in the catbird seat needing only one more pit stop while Keselowski likely would need two.

But the wheels began coming off for Johnson when he made his final scheduled stop on lap 213. A lug nut was left off his left-rear tire and he was forced to pit again.

When relayed the news, Keselowski responded on the radio: "We're back in the game! I got it!"

Johnson then headed to the garage for repairs 15 laps later, sewing up the championship for his rival.

Team owner Roger Penske also earned his first Cup title, in Dodge's last year as engine supplier for the series.

"Not one failure all year long in the Dodge engine," Penske said. " ... I think the competition is just so super. It's just something you have to work on, and these guys are the best."